Current Fellows

 Wanja Ogongi, Junior Fellow 

Wanja Ogongi has joined the Family Advocacy Unit of Community Legal Services, Inc. (CLS) as a Stoneleigh Junior Fellow. Wanja is working with CLS to examine the high rate of children returning to foster care within one year of being reunified with their families. 

Arley Styer, Junior Fellow

Liza M. Rodriguez, PhD

Liza M. Rodriguez is our first Public Policy Fellow.  Beginning in December 2008, she is working to develop cross-systems partnerships that will increase the capacity of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS), School District and Mayor's office to better serve the educational needs of students involved with DHS.  Her goal is to improve educational outcomes for system-involved youth.

Danielle Sered, MA, MFA

Danielle Sered has spent her professional career working to improve life outcomes for young people involved in the criminal justice system.  In collaboration with the Vera Institute of Justice, Danielle is working in Brooklyn, New York, to implement and test a new alternative-to-incarceration model for young people convicted of felonies, which involves dialogue with, and restitution to, those harmed by violence.  She began her fellowship in January 2009.

Gregory Volz, Esquire

Gregg Volz is a public interest lawyer who has dedicated the last 11 years of his professional life to improving the lives of citizens in the City of Chester, Pennsylvania.  During his fellowship beginning in January 2009, he will be working in Chester to develop school- and community-based youth courts, which focus on restorative justice, education, and the development of life skills as an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice and school disciplinary systems. 

Kelly Siegel, MSW, LCSW Former Junior Fellow

Kelly Siegel was our second Junior Fellow and was sponsored by Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY). She is interested in improving the environment in Philadelphia's public schools so that students can achieve greater success in school. Toward this end, she joined PCCY and other advocates in 2008 to implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBS) in several Philadelphia schools.

Candace Putter, MSS, LCSW

Candace Putter has worked for many years to improve the education and training that delinquent youth receive in placement, and to strengthen the services provided to them by the probation, human services, behavioral health, and education systems. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, Ms. Putter is starting the Pennsylvania Academic and Career/Technical Training (PACTT) Project in April 2008.

Leslie Acoca, MA, MFT

Leslie Acoca is dedicated to identifying and meeting the needs of women and girls in the criminal (adult) and juvenile justice systems. Her fellowship addresses the physical and mental health needs of the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice population: girls. In collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, Ms. Acoca initiated the National Girls Health Screen Project (NGHSP). In 2008 she became a Stoneleigh Center Fellow to continue her work.

Christine Trinkl Dougherty, Esquire

Our first fellow appointed through the 2007 competitive application process is Christine Trinkl Dougherty, a public interest lawyer sponsored by the Support Center for Child Advocates. Ms. Dougherty is working to improve the well-being of abused and neglected children by ensuring that the legal community advocates for the physical and mental health needs of these vulnerable young people.

Sam George, BA
Former Junior Fellow

In June 2007, we awarded our first junior fellowship to Sam George. A native of Philadelphia, Sam is interested in the well-being of vulnerable youth in our city -- particularly those effected by violence and the "no snitching" phenomenon, and those having difficulty staying in school. Sam spent his one-year fellowship partnering with the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Congreso de Latinos Unidos, exploring issues affecting Philadelphia's youth.

David Rubin, MD, MSCE

Our first invited fellow, appointed July 2007, is Dr. David Rubin, a pediatrician and Director of Research and Policy at Safe Place: Center for Child Protection and Health at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the sponsoring organization. Dr. Rubin seeks to improve the health and well-being of children involved with the child welfare system—those receiving in-home child welfare services, kinship care, or foster care.